Iron versus Aura
by Phantom Butcher
Summary: Vale and Atlas have been at each others throats for to long, but when a platoon of students gets dumped unto Beacon in the middle of the school year, everyone starts to question it. Blake knows that there is something underneath the surface, and with her team at her side, she'll hopefully show the world what's really happening, even through the smoke from the last gun battle...
1. Debrief

_I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight_

/ ||| \

"Alright! Listen up shit-sacks!" All eyes were immediately on the commanding officer, a loud-mouthed corporal by the name of Reese Hawke, when he commanded silence though everyone listened "we're going to be transferrin' you grunts to Beacon."

"How come sir?" Hawke shifted attention to the poor private that decided to speak out of line "you do that again son, and I will tear out your lungs" the boy gulped, causing a wave of tittering "alright, shut up! Take this seriously, anyone gets any suspicions about you idiots, outside of you dropping in unannounced. These Vale people might be morons, but even morons aren't blind." The C.O. ended his very brief debriefing, low chatter was allowed "so, do you have a plan Duke?" Octavio asked, leaning forward, he had a wicked smile placed on his face. Out of all of them, Octavio was always the one who liked trouble the most "I reckon I come up with somethin'" Duke was always the coolest, and surprisingly the smartest, people underestimate the amount of brain cells Duke has, mostly because he's from Vacuo, and those from Vacuo aren't the brightest. But Duke has a gift, and he utilizes it "sooner or later, right now just take a spell alright? We'll take a couple days at most to get a layout of the school, and then we'll go from there."

"Now, gentlemen" Markus, the one who everyone _thinks_ is the smartest, though he is, he's more of a pre-planner rather than a 'think-on-your-feet' type of person, which is handy when one is in a firefight "I did manage to get a few dossiers on some of the faculty in Beacon."

"Good, that'll come in handy I reckon" Duke smirked, looking to the man beside him "you ready Osiris?" Said man popped his neck, licking his teeth, and staring directly at his leader "you know I'm not a fan of all of this recon bullshit."

"I know buddy, but after a month or so, you'll do what you do best" Osiris smiled "a month huh?"

"It sucks, I know, but we gotta blend in as best we can, so no matter how much these Vale dicks get under your skin, you can't cut them open."

"Shame, that would liven the party a bit more" Duke chuckled "my god I'm glad you're on our side."

"Not like we had a choice man" Osiris spat, Duke shrugged "ah well, better to get fed off of other peoples misery" Duke put his favorite hat over his eyes "grab some shut eye boys, still a long ride to Beacon" they did as told, but Osiris couldn't sleep. He wondered what awaited Osiris and his team at Beacon academy. Hunters, from what he understands, take on hordes of Grimm single-handedly, which an experienced soldier can do just as well, with years of training, anybody can kill a demon. Osiris found himself twitchy and ready for action, he never fought a Hunter before, and he wants to, to the death, that way he'll show all of them that a soldier is irreplaceable. This was now an experiment mixed with a personal mission, find the toughest hunter, and deal with them how he sees fit. Osiris played with his knife, hoping to sink the blade into something fairly soon.


	2. Breach

_A good plan violently executed now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week_

/|||\

 **Breach**

Blake sat in class, the limbo where students were shifting from one classroom to the other, a sea of students who either take Beacon Academy seriously, or not at all, causing the slackers to be reprimanded, or expelled. Lots of other, more serious students would do anything for a spot in one of the most prestigious Hunter academies in Remnant. Though she has no worry when it comes to something such as that, she, along with her dear friends, are well on their way to graduating, two more years of attending then she'll get her diploma, and she'll be able to leave the world of Beacon behind and set out on her own adventures. She smiled at the thought of seeing the world, and what types of journeys await her, but that's far from now, for now, she's just enjoying a book, and waiting for class to start. Looking around at the cliques of students, once they were people that would spend time with people exactly like them, now, they're with people that they probably never thought they'd even remotely look at. It was strange how such a place can bring people from opposite ends of the world so close together, Blake never thought she would be with Ruby, Weiss, or Yang, timid, aggressive, and… _extra_. Through time she grew to love all of them like the sisters she never knew she wanted, and now their bond is tighter then blood in these past few years "why hello there Ms. Belladonna." Yang curtsied at her teammate; Blake smirked as Yang took a seat next to her "fancying a bit of a read?" Yang said with an awful accent, Blake still attempting to decipher it "I guess, though I'm not exactly happy about having Mr. Morrison in the morning."

"Why not? He's pretty cool, and alright to look at."

"That's the problem, he doesn't _teach_ , he's like a younger, slightly more attractive Mr. Port" Yang gasped "how _dare_ you!"

"What? What did I do?"

"You put Mr. Morrison and Mr. Port in the same sentence; you are _way_ out of line."

"I…Am?"

"Yes, you are" Blake and Yang continued to have an argument about who was the most attractive teacher, on a list, in the back of her head Blake was asking herself why on _earth_ she was arguing with one of her best friends about hot teachers. Yang drug her away from her book, and made Blake a bit irritated, though Yang couldn't see that it made Blake irritated, which irritated Blake more and more. Until finally, the teacher in question, Mr. Morrison arrived "hello class" he started, Blake and Yang quit bickering, Blake noticed that her companion was under an immediate spell, quiet, calm, _paying attention;_ it was almost frightening to see. As Mr. Morrison went on and on about seemingly nothing, Blake's mind just seemed to wander, making sure that her auto-pilot function knew to take down any type of important sayings that Mr. Morrison rarely says. The class was pointless, at least to her, it was about weaponry and schematics, minus the fact that the teacher was a tad bit incompetent, she has _the_ most weapon crazed girl in her group, Ruby is well known for her knowledge in gun-melee combination weapons. She's gifted, that's for sure, and Blake is glad to call her a friend, she ended her note-taking, knowing that she has a human weapon thesaurus "hey Blake."

"Hm?

"You like books right?" such a question to ask, Blake wanted to slap her "no Yang, I've been reading for years _because_ I don't like reading."

"Just checking, anyway I was hoping maybe you could help me pick out a few books to read" Blake dropped her pen "you… _want_ to read?"

"Sure, someone once said 'do one thing a day that scares you.'"

"And you're scared to read?"

"Yeah, it just seems so boring."

"Which makes it scary?" Yang shrugged "sure."

"Your way of thinking amazes me"

Regardless Blake obliged "we can go to the library after class if you're really serious about it" Yang nodded, Blake was still left baffled "are you feeling alright Yang?"

"Never better, why?"

"I still think I'm in shock I guess" Yang rolled her eyes "is me reading that much of a shocker?"

"I would say you asking me for advice on what to read, rather than just picking something up."

"Well, I just saw that smut book you were-"

"It's not _smut_ , how many times do I have to tell you!?" Blake snapped, and said it a bit louder then she wanted to, causing the surrounding students to stare and giggle, Blake looked down a bit embarrassed "thanks _Yang._ "

"You're the one that said it" Blake dropped the subject, paying attention to the teacher again, paying attention being a loose term. Mr. Morrison, although now he's starting to appeal to Blake, is _still_ talking about some adventure he's had, the difference between him and Mr. Port is that Mr. Morrison's class wants to listen to his stories. Meanwhile he's probably going to administer a test sometime next week about weapon schematics "…and to this day" Blake tuned in to his story, which seems to be wrapping up "I still hate the smell of burning fur" the class laughed and clapped. Blake didn't get it, but whatever, she's passing, and that's what matters, most girls were swooning and most men were in awe, and to be fair, Mr. Morrison was quite attractive in the right light. She sat and just doodled away, watching the clock tick at time, she wondered what Ruby and Weiss were up to. Although the two have grown quite attached to each other, there are still moments when they're just fed up with each other. Blake snickered at the thought of Weiss fending off Ruby's barrage of annoyance, never realizing how alike Ruby and Yang are. Lost in her thoughts the bell rang abruptly, looking around as if she just woke up from a dream "well class that's all the time we have for today, remember to look over your notes and study up, other than that have a great day!" Blake tied her things together and clutched them to her chest "library dear Blake?"

"It's going to take some time getting used to that" the duo paraded through Beacon, talking about literature and what kinds of books Yang would enjoy, Blake was feeling ecstatic about it all "now it's my turn to ask, are _you_ alright Blake?"

"Sorry, I'm just excited that I can finally talk with someone about reading!"

"Well, I don't even know if I'll like it or not, but I can give it a shot" eventually they rounded a corner and met up with the other half of team RWBY, and of course, Blake was correct in her assumptions "that is the _last_ time that happens Ruby Rose!" Ruby was being reprimanded by her teammate, but to Ruby, she couldn't stop laughing "you should've seen the look on your face Weiss!" Ruby snickered "I made her say that she would kiss a Grimm!" Blake shook her head ' _that's… a bit childish'_ either way it brought a smile to everyone's face, everyone except Weiss of course. "Come on girls" Yang gathered everyone in her arms "let's go get something to eat, I'm starved!" They bantered back and forth on where to eat, in the school or out in Vale and spend what little money they have collectively "I still want to go out, I've been cooped up in this school for far too long and breathing some very stale air."

"Good idea" Yang agreed, which caused everyone else to agree, Blake wanted to see what the city of Vale looks like again. They continued to talk until Ruby bumped into someone "oh, I'm sorry!" The student turned around at her and the others "it's fine" he dismissed her so quickly. Blake got a bad feeling about everyone just standing near the exit, a healthy portion of Beacon's students were at the doorways "what's going on?" Blake asked the boy, he shrugged "I don't know, I can't quite tell. People are whispering of these guys just busting in here."

"Who?"

"At this point I know as much as you" with that, he turned back around "weird" Yang said "let's get to the bottom of this."

They linked arms as Yang acted as a barge, though no students showed restraint, and they just let RWBY through "this is so weird" Ruby squeaked "it's like everyone's seen a dead body."

"I don't like it either, the air is very thick" Weiss commented, and they eventually broke through the front finally getting a good look at what caused everyone to freeze. Standing adjacent to the hunters of Beacon were what looked like armed thugs, crazed vagrants, and emotionless mercenaries all dressed in worn and drab clothing. Carrying duffel bags and ragged back packs filled with what? One can guess, out of all of them there was a man who was missing an arm, an eye, and most of his hair, he to was watching what was happening with a still hand and a cold stare. Blake tried to pinpoint who on Remnant would dare pull such a move with highly trained hunters and huntresses, these pushovers look like they might be seeking their next meal, Beacon was now a homeless shelter. Blake reserved judgment though, one never knows what's underneath the surface, even soft-shelled coals harbor toughened diamonds "who are they?" Weiss whispered "I don't know, but they seem just as confused as we are." Blake noticed that both sides are waiting for one to make a move, some were twitchy and whispering about the other side, the other side however, never broke eye contact with the Beacon students "should we do something?" Ruby asked, but was shut down "I don't think that's a good idea little sister, no telling what could happen, and we're unarmed."

"That doesn't mean we're defenseless" still, Ruby didn't make a move. The only movement tracked was the one-eyed, one-armed man who stood in front of the homeless men and women "where is your headmaster?"Hhe said in such a sour and wrecked tone, like he smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day "my name is Major Hawke, and I desperately need to speak to him" he rubbed his eyes "if he'll indulge me."

"We can speak on his behalf" Mr. Oobleck and Ms. Goodwitch approached, shielding the students "what brings you barging in here with well over a hundred men and women?" Glenda asked, all eyes were on the Major "these aren't men and women Miss…?"

"Goodwitch" she said "this is my colleague Bartholomew."

"How do you do?" Oobleck introduced himself "I've been better, we come here in search of shelter."

"You must be mistaken; this is a school, not a place for the homeless." Hawke laughed, and it caused the horde behind him to chuckle "no, no, you've got it all wrong, do these look like the faces of people who live on the streets?" she doesn't know if the teachers noticed, but Blake certainly saw that these weren't hobos, they had strong shoulders, thousand yard stares, and not one smile or slice of emotion was shown, even when they laughed. It was strange indeed "these are not tramps, these people here are soldiers."

"Soldiers?" Hawke took off his cap and looked to the ground "I don't know how to say this really, but…" Blake looked as he traced the ceiling with his eyes, collecting his thoughts "we're all from Atlas." That sparked immediate chatter amongst the Beacon students, hushed comments about why and how "is there any reason they might be here Weiss?"

"I do not have any idea whatsoever, they could be here for right, or wrong reasons, either way stay on alert. They might be carrying something hostile in those bags of theirs" they did as requested; RWBY was silent until further notice "what brings you on Vale soil?" Port questioned, Hawke sighed "I know this doesn't seem convenient especially with everything going on, but…" Hawke approached until he was dead center "these people… these men and women of valor have sacrificed a lot for their country. They have shown the world that they're the toughest bastards in Atlas, they've sacrificed a lot from the day they were in our youth program up until now."

"How so?"

"They would all be court marshaled and shot for treason just for stepping foot off of Atlas without an op or a mission objective filling their heads, their tired, their done, they want to do something else with their lives now."

"Very noble Major" Goodwitch approached "but why not just stay in Atlas and have them join that academy?"

"Do you think I wouldn't be risking my career, my _life_ and all of these good and proper soldiers lives here if I didn't try that Miss?" Hawke stated rather aggressively, but he then collected himself "forgive me, there's just a lot at stake here, covering a Company of soldiers gone missing is harder than you think." Hawke scratched his head "you're not only my last hope, but you're the last hope for all of these honorable men and women here, I'm begging you" everyone could see that whoever this Major is, is biting a tough bullet. Blake wanted to second guess him, but the hobos, who are apparently young soldiers, looked defeated, exhausted, and aimless, it was a sad sight to see, but still, Beacon is not a charity "this has to be a joke right?" Yang asked "this can't be real."

"Give them some credit Yang, do they look like crazed homeless people?" Weiss quipped "still, it's a very bold move to come onto the doorsteps of an almost enemy country pleading for help." They couldn't argue that "well, as sad as your story is Major" Oobleck stepped up "this is a pristine academy, and I'm sure your familiar with order in an academy such as this."

"Is money the problem?" the Major countered, and the entire speaking faculty went silent. Blake figured that was the bottom line, money always is, but besides the fact that Atlas is practically an enemy, there's room and board, food, curriculum, tagging students, and the list will roll onto the floor and out of the doorway. It's never that simple "it's not just finances Major" all eyes were immediately on the headmaster Ozpin, the Beacon students formed a path for the brilliant man to walk "there's a lot more to entering Beacon, though our semester barely started, I'm afraid enrollment has closed." Ozpin looked at the small pool of Atlas militants led by a war-torn Major, who may or may not be a Major anymore "there's nothing I can say or do to spare these lives?" the vagabonds started whispering amongst each other, saying that it was a waste of time. Others were panicking saying that they didn't want to go back to Atlas, some stayed quiet and looked to the floor wondering what they're going to do next. Blake did feel a bit bad about it, but there's nothing to do, even if she had power such as Ozpin, no wiggle room means that there is no compromise "tell me Major, what drove you to come here? What's happening in Atlas?" It's as if a bomb had been dropped, all of the Atlas natives froze and darted their eyes around, or just stood there unmoving, possibly not even breathing, even the Major was still to a degree. Until finally he spoke "I can say firsthand that they've been through all of my time on this world and in the battlefield, that there's nothing more gruesome, more brutal then what we've been through." The Major didn't look anyone in the eye "these fine young men and women were brought up in a youth program fit for a division of Atlas government, covert operations, blacklisted."

"What was your branch called?" Ozpin interrogated, Hawke shook away the trauma, looking to the headmaster "Homeland Order and Law Division" Hawke shook his head "nasty business Ozpin, I wouldn't wish it on an enemy" Blake took note of the furious shaking by some of the soldiers behind the Major. "I, as well as everyone here, were under the shadows of the giant, the… darker side of Atlas. Those covert operations weren't what you think, we did a lot of bad things under the guise of patriotism, what we thought was right. We waved the Atlas flag proudly, and in the name of our home we… did some very, very, _very_ bad things." One man started sniffling and crying, his comrades comforted him "we were a hit squad essentially, taking out any enemy of the government that might prove a threat." Blake was immediately skeptical, such a convenient story to tell on the doorstep of an enemy nation "you think he's telling the truth?" She asked, but no one gave a definitive answer "it was rough, and that's why I'm here, you're my last hope, you're their last hope." Ozpin sipped his coffee "are they armed?"

"Yes, side arms only" Ozpin narrowed his vision "tell your men to empty their guns."

Major Hawke shrugged "fair enough, you heard him" everyone put down their bags and slowly reached for their holstered pistols, taking out the clip and ejecting the bullet. Blake nodded in approval, what good is a gun without ammunition, an orchestra of brass hitting the floor "hidden weapons as well." The Major smirked, and commanded his legion to take out their secretive weapons, sawed off shotguns, forty-five caliber pistols, revolvers, all personalized from what she could tell. The walls were bouncing with shells and bullets hitting the floor "knives to" Hawke started laughing as his group complained, the knives met the floor "now that they are unarmed" Ozpin hesitated "there will be a commencement in the auditorium for your men, they can sleep there for the night until proper accommodations can be met. I hope you have the tuition fee, I won't question where you got it"

"I am forever in your debt Ozpin, me and my men" Hawke ordered them to pick up their things, ammunition and knives included, and they followed Ms. Goodwitch and Mr. Oobleck "if you would students, please return to your classes, there will be a minor incursion today and of course some time to get used to this. All I ask is that you tread carefully, I'd like you all to try and minimize contact with them until I see what their real motive is."

"You don't believe them?" Yang asked, not that anyone questioned it, it's completely random and suspicious that a hostile country's supposed blacklisted division on the doorstep of Vale's defense. Even a blind man could see what's going on here "I don't, not until I question the Major some more, until then continue on with your day, just do yourselves a favor and stay away from the auditorium for now until things become relatively normal again." With that he dismissed his students and walked away, but team RWBY started hatching their own plan "I take it we're going to the auditorium later?" Weiss questioned, both Ruby and Yang agreed, Blake shrugged "I guess, it'd certainly shine some light on this situation."

"Yeah, what she said" Ruby said "I just want to see what in the heck they were carrying."

"What, their guns?" Ruby nodded "they were so… so…"

"Primitive?" Blake finished "yeah, what you said, again" Yang forced everyone to huddle "alright, we gotta be sneaky about this, I'm pretty sure _no_ one wants us near the auditorium."

"So why not just let it be Yang?"

"Because my dear ice queen, I want to know what ex-soldiers, who kind of smell might I add, are doing in our academy expecting hospitality."

"Maybe they just want a place to stay" Blake countered "though it's an elaborate story; everything does kind of make sense."

"Explain Blake" all eyes were on her "well, seeing as I use a pistol almost every day, I'd like to think I know a thing or two about those. What they were carrying, those looked like high-end side-arms." Everyone thought and tried to argue her point, but they couldn't, though they did look worse for wear, the guns must've been taken care of very well "only one way to find out if their telling the truth or not." Yang had a mischievous smile, not that anyone was opposed to spying on the people who might kill the students of Beacon in their sleep "alright, we'll sneak out after curphew and see if something is amiss with these weirdos." Team RWBY made a plan of attack, when the lights go down, and everyone is asleep, they'll make their move and see if anything comes at them, out of the blue. With team RWBY's _brilliant_ luck, everything will either go according to plan, or like a tank going through alleyway.


End file.
